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Analytical Techniques for Public Service (ATPS) II Winter 2018

Lecture meets in Sem II D1105

Seminar rooms: D2015, D2017, D2109 See Canvas for up-to-date schedule and assignment information

Faculty Email Office Hours

Lucky Anguelov anguelol@evergreen.edu By Appointment Cali Ellis ellisc@evergreen.edu Th 1-4 pm Doreen Swetkis swetkisd@evergreen.edu By Appointment TESC MPA MISSION STATEMENT “Be the Change”

Our students, faculty and staff create learning communities to explore and implement socially just, democratic public service. We think critically and creatively; communicate effectively; work collaboratively; embrace diversity; we value fairness and equity; advocate powerfully on behalf of the public; and imagine new possibilities to accomplish positive change in our workplaces and in our communities. COURSE DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES

Analytical Techniques for Public Service is a two-quarter long Core program for second-year MPA students. While we will focus each quarter on specific approaches to applied public service research, the intent is that the learning objectives of the program are achieved across both quarters. The learning objectives include:

• Understand research methodology; understand why we do research in public service; • Understand how various approaches can be used to maintain the status quo and/or as

instruments of positive social/economic/political change. • Be able to situate analytic techniques in management/public policy (the context); understand the

importance of these techniques; • Understand analytic techniques in practice (public policy; budgeting and finance; performance

measurement and management; evaluation research; etc); • Become competent in quantitative and quantitative data collection and analysis; • Develop skills in communicating about data (displaying data; presentations) and writing research

reports; and • Become a savvy and sophisticated consumer of research.

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In the Winter quarter, students collect and analyze the data collected in the research proposal that teams designed last quarter; create documents and other materials to convert data into information; present research results in various forms. EXPECTATIONS Review Assignment Requirements Thoroughly Before Drafting Submissions: This may sound obvious, but it is vitally important that you read and understand assignments before you begin to write. The pressure to just start writing can be irresistible at times. Don’t! Canvas is used for course documents specifically because it enables changes as the course evolves during the quarter. Some assignments have very specific requirements. Some are intentionally a bit more open to interpretation and creative responses. Clear understanding of your goals is important to avoiding frustration – yours and the faculty’s. Format of Assignment Submissions: All papers will be submitted as requested by your seminar faculty member. All papers must meet assignment parameters and cite works using the American Psychological Association style (http://www.apastyle.org/) All written work will be of high quality, grammatically correct, clear and without spelling errors. If you require it, please contact the Graduate Writing Assistant. Sometimes your faculty will ask you to work with the Graduate Writing Assistant; if so, you are required to do so to the satisfaction of your faculty member. Late assignments: Are not accepted without prior (to deadline) approval by your seminar faculty member. Multiple late assignments put you at risk for no credit. Participation & Attendance: Students are required to attend each class meeting. Participation includes focusing on class content, being engaged in class and seminar, listening to others, taking notes, completing class interactive exercises, avoiding distractions, and listening to and dialoging with the guest speakers. If an absence is unavoidable, faculty must be notified prior to a class and/or seminar absence. After one absence per quarter, make-up work may be assigned at faculty discretion, case-by-case. Make-up work must be completed by the end of the quarter for course credit. Multiple absences put you at risk for no credit. Use of Electronic Devices: The class is participatory and the learning community is dependent upon people being present to what is happening in class. Research shows that using electronic devices can be distracting and deleterious to the learning experience and to the learning community. Further, research suggests that typing notes on a keyboard rather than writing out longhand results in shallower processing of the concepts. Yet we acknowledge the limited, key situations where these devices are necessary. These situations include: accessing the Canvas site when course materials are being explained; workshops where laptops help teams track requirements and output; practical exercises in class where spreadsheets or other templates are needed; and individual situations where accommodation must be made through technology. In short, put away your devices (laptops, phones, tablets) except when otherwise instructed (we recognize that some may be accessing readings electronically and will use a device in seminar). If an emergency requires you to track activity on your phone, please inform a faculty member. Teamwork: The expectations of students as individuals applies to expectations of individuals in project teams as well. Each team member is expected to behave as part of a learning community. The division of labor in teams should respect differences among members while ensuring maximum participation of all team members. Conflicts with the team should be resolved by team members to the greatest extent possible. It is not the role of faculty to adjudicate conflicts within teams unless they involve violations of college policies. Credit: This MPA Core course is taught a bit differently than other Cores: students will receive 12 graduate credits at the completion of the Winter quarter if all course requirements have been satisfactorily

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completed to meet course objectives. No partial credit will be awarded. Academic dishonesty and plagiarism (i.e., using other peoples’ work as your own, see MPA Handbook for more), failing to complete one or more assignments, completing more than one assignment late, or multiple absences may constitute denial of credit and/or dismissal from the MPA program. Students will be evaluated based upon their progress toward the learning goals, assessed from classroom, seminar, and assignment performance. Students at risk of losing credit will receive written notification prior to the end of the term. Evaluation: As noted above, ATPS is a two quarter course. Successful completion occurs at the end of the second quarter of the course, for 12 credits. Faculty advisors will meet with research groups as groups during the evaluation period, but will not subFaculty advisors will hold brief evaluation conversations with individual team members at that time to share thoughts on individual student progress. Written self-evaluations are required at the end of each quarter. Evaluations are considered “submitted” only when posted through the College portal. Accommodations: are provided for any student who desires them through Access Services, the Graduate Writing Assistant, and the Quantitative and Symbolic Reasoning Center. To request academic accommodations due to a disability, please contact the office of Access Services for Students with Disabilities (867-6348 or 6364). Information about a disability or health condition is regarded as confidential. Please refer to TESC’s Students With Disabilities Policy here. Other Expectations of Students and Faculty: We commit to promoting a cooperative, supportive atmosphere within the community; give everyone opportunity for self-reflection and expression; use high standards in reading the text and preparing our papers, lectures, and comments in seminar; handle all disputes in a spirit of goodwill; respect our differences; and, discuss any problems involving others in the learning community directly with the individuals involved. We abide by the social contract, the student conduct code and the non-discrimination policies and procedures at TESC. See the college’s Student Conduct webpage for more. All students are expected to support and contribute to a well-functioning MPA classroom learning community. Behavior that disrupts the learning community may be grounds for disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal from the MPA program. Guest Policy: Guests are welcome to visit our learning community during class time and seminar meetings with approval from course faculty in advance of each requested visit. It is the host student’s responsibility to contact the faculty with details about the requested guest visit and await approval. Prospective students may visit one class meeting of first year Core without advance faculty approval, but must notify faculty that they are present prior to the beginning of class. All guests must abide by all social contract, conduct code, and nondiscrimination policy guidelines as aforementioned in this handbook. Per faculty discretion, guests may be asked to leave and not permitted to return to class if these guidelines are violated in any way including behavior that disrupts the learning community. All guests are expected to minimize their participation in class and seminar discussions. Inclement Weather: In the event of bad weather or emergencies students should check with television, web pages, and radio stations for announcements of campus closures. Students can also call the main campus line 867-6000 to get the latest news regarding a campus closure or delay. Since many students in the program travel from relatively distant locations, faculty may decide to cancel class even if campus is open. If we do this we will send an all-class email by 3:00 pm. If you've not already done so, sign up to receive alerts about campus closing or other emergencies here. Communicating with Each Other: Email and Canvas are our primary means of communication. You are responsible for checking your Evergreen email and Canvas regularly.

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READINGS

Fall and Winter Quarters:

• ResearchMethods:TheBasics(NicolasWalliman)Paperback:208pagesPublisher:Routledge(December20,2010)ISBN-13:978-0415489942

• FocusGroupsasQualitativeResearch(SecondEdition)(DarylMorgan)Paperback:88pagesPublisher:SAGEPublications,Inc;2ndedition(October23,1996)ISBN-13:978-0761903437

• IndigenousMethodologies:Characteristics,ConversationsandContext(MargaretKovach)Paperback:216pagesPublisher:UniversityofTorontoPress,ScholarlyPublishingDivision.ISBN-13:978-1442612112

• QualitativeInquiry&ResearchDesign(JohnCreswell)Paperback:472pagesPublisher:SAGEPublications,Inc;3rdedition(March14,2012)ISBN-13:978-1412995306

• SurveyResearchMethods(FifthEdition)(FloydFowler)Paperback:184pagesPublisher:SAGEPublications,Inc;5thedition(September18,2013)ISBN-13:978-1452259000

• InterviewingasQualitativeResearch(IrvingSeidman)Paperback:178pagesPublisher:TeachersCollegePress;4edition(December21,2012)

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WinterQuarter:

• Evicted:PovertyandProfitintheAmericanCity(MatthewDesmond)Paperback:448pagesPublisher:BroadwayBooksISBN-13:978-0553447453

• Nudge:ImprovingDecisionsAboutHealth,Wealth,andHappiness(RichardH.ThalerandCassR.Sunstein)Paperback:312pagesPublisher:SAGEPublications,Inc;3rdedition(March14,2012)ISBN-13:978-1412995306

• Dataclysm:Love,Sex,Race,andIdentity--WhatOurOnlineLivesTellUsAboutOurOfflineSelves(ChristianRudder)Paperback:320pagesPublisher:VintageCanada(September8,2015)ISBN-13:978-0345812599

• StorytellingwithData:ADataVisualizationGuideforBusinessProfessionals(ColeNussbaumerKnaflic)Paperback:288pagesPublisher:Wiley;1edition(November2,2015)ISBN-13:978-1119002253

• MoveFastandBreakThings:HowFacebook,Google,andAmazonCorneredCultureandUnderminedDemocracy(JonathanTaplin) Paperback:320pagesPublisher:Little,BrownandCompany(April18,2017)ISBN-13:978-0316508278

Other readings posted to Canvas, TBA

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ASSIGNMENTSThe primary goal for both quarters of ATPS is to give you direct experience with applied primary research. You will, soup to nuts, design and deploy a research project that informs a public, policy, organizational or social/cultural question or challenge.

We will work on defining and narrowing research questions, designing instruments to collect qualitative and quantitative data, ensuring the privacy and safety of research participants, collecting and analyzing data and reporting your findings. These projects will be done in groups of three people; only under exceptional circumstances will we approve a larger group. You must include a survey as part of your data collection methods, as well as one qualitative method of collecting data (focus groups, interviews, ethnographic methods, etc.).

Again this quarter, some assignments are project-based (done in project teams); other assignments are individual assignments (done individually).

Unless otherwise noted, assignments are due by 6:00 PM on class day, in the weeks noted on the schedule (posted separately). All assignments are to be submitted via Canvas.*

(Week 2) Bring Your Own (BYO) Study/Report for Review (Individual). You will select a research paper of a public policy topic and dissect it as if you were planning to undertake a similar project yourself. You will bring this reading to class for seminar, and post it to canvas so your seminar leader can see the details; analyze your choice through a Research Review Paper Examples described below. In seminar, we will share as many of these studies and responses as possible. You do not need to make copies of the BYO paper for everyone in seminar; describing it will be enough.

(Week 2) Research Plan (Group Project) Now that you have the schedule for the rest of the year, it’s time to make a detailed plan for completing your project. Your research plan is the next level of detail from the proposal you completed in December and includes these specific deliverables: who, what, when, where, how. Define the roles of members in your group at each stage of the work. State the timing and approach for what you will do around data collection, analysis, and production related to your project. This deliverable is intended to be useful to you. Use a format that works for your group but includes the elements described here. The product could be built in project management software, could just be a table of activities and dates, or some other approach, but not more than 5 pages, double spaced.

(Week 2)Survey Pilot Analysis ( Group Project). This deliverable is the analysis of the data collected in the Week 1 workshop. You will submit a 2-page, double-spaced, description of your pilot test and specific information about proposed changes (if any) in your collection methods. Include the piloted survey as an attachment.

(Weeks 3,7) Papers Reviewing Research Examples (Individual) These papers are a new category this quarter. This is a place to provide evidence of your growth as a consumer of research. First answer, “What are the author’s main theses and arguments?” Then you will turn to a review of the research itself: What are the methods and key conclusions of the research? Does the evidence support the conclusion? If you were to pursue this research topic, what would you do differently? Note that some weeks this paper is done on a reading that we assigned and one week you choose the reading. Maximum of 2 pages, doubled spaced.

(Week 4) Capstone Idea (Individual or Group) Submit to the faculty team a short description of your project idea (think about using a one page memo format for this). If you are going to collect primary data or information from people, you’ll need to indicate that you plan to do a Human Subjects Review at

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Evergreen and also at any participating organization (should it be required by that organization). The faculty team will review your outlines, give you feedback, and faculty sponsors will be assigned. You may, of course, approach an individual faculty member directly about sponsoring your project. We will take all preferences into consideration.

(Weeks 4, 8 & 9) Memos (Individual) “Memoing” is an important administrative skill. Memos are letters written to a specific decision-maker that define an administrative problem within the organization, analyze that problem, and recommend a course of action. Policy Memos The ability to write a strong and concise policy memo is one of the most important skills for policy practitioners in all fields. Select one issue and write a targeted policy memo to a specific policymaker identifying the problem and providing potential feasible solutions. For guidance on policy memo writing, see the posted reading from Behen and the USC Libraries Research Guides in Week 4. 1 page, single spaced, including an executive summary. Decision memos (sometimes called action memos) are based on the readings, but have a very different purpose than a seminar paper. Instead of describing and analyzing the readings, you are using the readings to make a recommendation to a decision maker. Decision memos can differ from policy memos in purpose (always with a recommended course of action) and length (policy memos can be several pages). Policy memos often have a recommendation for a particular action, but sometimes provide straight analysis of a situation or problem with a recommendation. For this assignment, based upon the reading for the week, write your memo to a decision maker in your organization or an organization with which you are familiar.

These papers should be no more than two pages, single-spaced in 12-point font. Use a memo style heading:

To: [Decision maker’s name] From: [Your name] Date: Subject:

Memos begin with a summary paragraph that briefly defines the problem, provides a summary of three recommended actions (of which one is “do nothing”), the basis for the recommendations, and your preferred option. Yes, you give your conclusions first, and then the body of the memo develops the arguments to support your recommended actions (directly related to the readings for the week). Make the summary paragraph the last thing you write. (Week 5) Analysis Plan (Group Project) Earlier, you provided your project plan. At this point you know a lot more about your specific qualitative and quantitative findings and the tools you will use to analyze your data. What is your plan for analyzing your data? What software will you use? What statistics will you calculate? How will you compile and analyze your qualitative data? Like the research plan from January, the format for this should be something that works for your group. Submit the format that your group has chosen to organize this plan, but, if the write up is a traditional report, 2-3 pages double spaced.

(Week 5) Review of BYO Awesome Data Visualization (Individual) Search the web for a particularly interesting single visual presentation (beautiful visualization) of a complex idea. This could be a table, graphic, illustration, etc. from a research article (can be from previous work you have done for class). This should not be animated. Like the BYO Research Paper, you will do three things with this visualization: Bring it to class to share, post it to canvas, and provide a written response to the

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visualization. Your written submission should describe the findings, and share your perspective about why you find it interesting and effective. As with the BYO research paper, we will share as many of the BYO visualizations as we have time for in seminar, so be prepared for an oral presentation along the lines of your written submission. This piece is 2-3 pages, double spaced.

(Week 6) Capstone Proposal (Individual or Group) The proposal (maximum 3- 4 double-spaced pages) is comprised of short responses to each the following bullets only:

• Background • Objective(s)/Purpose/Intentions • Methods or Techniques • Deliverables/Outputs – outputs are the actual products of your work (meetings, reports, presentation

to organizations, etc.) • Expected Outcomes – outcomes are the anticipated or hoped for effects of your work • How does your proposed project demonstrate KSAs? • How does your proposed project demonstrate the MPA Mission? • How will the work contribute to positive change?

Proposed project timeline. Before the beginning of Spring term, teams/individuals will meet with the sponsoring faculty to revise and finalize proposals. Your proposal must be approved by your sponsoring faculty and approved with HSR, if applicable, before the first Thursday of class in Spring term. Believe us when we write—you will want the full quarter to devote to your Capstone project.

(Week 7) Data Analysis (Group Project) Congratulations! Time to see what you’ve discovered. You will share six key findings from your research (three key findings from qualitative data (focus groups and/or interviews) and three key findings from the quantitative data (survey). Your discussion can be quite brief. You may want to use a table, or graphics, to summarize your quantitative findings. The point is to have done a rigorous analysis of the data and to identify findings of interest. 3-5 pages, double spaced. Tables, graphics, etc. may require extra pages -- that's ok.

(Weeks 8, 9, 10) Final Products (Group Project) A note about the final products you will be producing from this point forward. Your research project has involved two different kinds of data (qualitative and quantitative). You have analyzed your quantitative data using basic statistics. You have turned your qualitative data from raw collected data into useable information. Now you are asked to produce three kinds of output:

(1) You will produce a research report, which we are calling a research compendium, much like a journal article or a white paper, describing your research strategy, your methods, your findings, and your conclusions. Start with an edited version of the fall quarter final research proposal. The compendium is a compendium of your work, an intellectual warehouse that you will have to demonstrate the extensive work you completed this year. Maximum: 20 pages, double spaced (not including appendices - should include copies of data collection instruments in appendix, etc.). To be clear, your compendium includes these elements: abstract, introduction/problem statement, literature review, data collection methods (including instruments), results, discussion, conclusions, reference list.

(2) You will create an audience-specific written piece that is a much briefer, more focused and directed version of your research findings. You will define the audience and draft written materials that speak directly to them. The product can be a brochure, blog, editorial, press release, pamphlet, grant proposal, etc.

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(3) You will create an audience specific visual and oral presentation that very, very briefly describes your research strategy, methods, and findings. Again, you define the audience. We'll let you know how much time you have. You are encouraged to explore unique and creative ways to portray the findings of your project.

Draft of Audience-Specific Presentation (Grop Project, Week 8) This corresponds to item (3) above. Although your presentation is the last thing you will do in class, you have the information to begin developing it now (see the February 23 assignment). You will be fine tuning your presentation until the day of presentations, but this will be a first step. Describe your approach to visually and orally presenting your results. The outputs are your Power Point presentation (or other presentation technology) and a 2-4 page, double-spaced written description that explains your presentation.

Draft of Compendium and Audience-Specific Written Piece (Group Project, Week 9) This deliverable corresponds to items (1) and (2) in the final products list above.

Final Products (Group Project, Week 10) The three final products described above, final versions. Congratulations!